Search results for 'tag:Present simple' matching tag 'Present simple'

Re: present simple or continuous (temporary state action)

A Cornish Pasty — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:08:55 GMT

Do you hear anything from Peter these days?

The present simple is used.

Another point: The are no spaces before question marks in English.

present simple or continuous (temporary state action)

Espeland — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:28:57 GMT

Hello !

Do you use the present simple or present continuous when you want to describe a kind of action that is temporary/in progress but somewhat in a kind of state,
like for example:
Are you hearing anything from Peter these days ? / Do you hear anything from Peter these days ?

Which one is correct ?

Re: difference/ for

Newguest — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:30:21 GMT

Cool Breeze
Newguest

What is the difference in meaning when I say: Do you learn any other languages except English AND Are you learning any other languages except English. Also: can I say "except for English"?

The continuous tense seems better to me (Are you learning/studying...?) You could use the simple tense, simple past this time, in a sentence like "Did you learn any other language in your childhood?" This would imply that you learned the language naturally like a child does in the environment you lived in. It would be possible to express a lot more nuances if there were more inflections in English!

Except for is fine: Did you study any other language except [for] / besides / but / save / than English?

CB

Ok, so I understand that the present simple doesn't sound good.

As for the "for" I assume that "are you learning any other languages except for English" would also be fine?

Thank you

Re: have got, have, got: Is there any difference?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:27:38 GMT

Hello
I am English teacher in Brazil ,the difference is in the grammar..as follows :
Have got = present perfect- which is have+ past participle , this relates something that started in the past with the present
have = present simple it indicated present meaning only and normally shows possesssion
got is the past of get so it is simple past
if you need more information please contact me on <email address removed by a mod. Please register and add it to your profile.>
Ala rebhi salim - Brazil

Re: Teaching Workplace English - PPP (present-practice-production) & TBL (Task-Based Learning)

samwalker — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:17:29 GMT

Time Allotment Week 1

Â	A	B	C	D	F	G
1	Day 1			In Minutes	Â	Â
2	House Rules			15	Â	Â
3	Language is a Lifestyle			15	Â	Â
4	Background of the Approach			30	Â	Â
5	Grading Scheme			5	Â	Â
6	HR Orientation	Â	Â	90	Â	Â
7	Ventus Video			15	Â	Â
8	Introductions			45	Â	IMPORTANT NOTES:
9	Making Phone Calls			Â	Â	RECAP/REVIEW ROLE PLAYS are not graded. This is the best venue for either peer or trainer feedback
10	Â	Present		Â	Â	For group activities, ensure that all members are contributing or participating to maximize the learning.
11	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Have you ever made a phone call before? How did you start the call? How did it end? Would you say the communication was successful? What was the purpose of the call? Did you get what you expected out of it? Share your experiences with a partner.	10	Â	Always pay close attention to pronunciation with every activity.
12	Â	Â	Systematization (present module on Sound Production)	45	Â	Â
13	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
14	Â	Â	Making Contact (Activity A)	25	Â	Â
15	Â	Â	Making Contact (Activity B)	25	Â	Â
16	Â	Â	Calling Back	25	Â	Â
17	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
18	Â	Â	Roleplay (scenarios)	60	Â	Â
19	Telephone English Roleplays			Â	Â	Â
20	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
21	Â	Â	Running Dictation	15	Â	Â
22	Â	Â	Systematization (Modality:Â going to and will)	30	Â	Â
23	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
24	Â	Â	ABC Tech Scenario 1	20	Â	Â
25	Â	Â	ABC Tech Scenario 2	20	Â	Â
26	Â	Â	ABC Tech Scenario 3	20	Â	Â
27	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
28	Â	Â	Roleplay (trainees pair up and come up with their own scenarios)	30	Â	Â
29	Lunch			60	Â	Â
30	Breaks			30	Â	Â
31	Total Time			630	Â	Â
32	Day 2			In Minutes	Â	Â
33	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY (Roleplay) - Making Phone Calls/ Sound Production			60	Â	Â
34	Complaints on the Telephone			Â	Â	Â
35	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
36	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity: Do you consider yourself a consumer? Share experiences with a group and then share with the rest of the class. Write down words associated with dissatisfaction.	15	Â	Â
37	Â	Â	Systematization (Different Types of Difficult Customers and How to Deal with Them)	45	Â	Â
38	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
39	Â	Â	Create your own Taboo	30	Â	Â
40	Â	Â	Complaints on the Telephone Activity C:Â Focus	30	Â	Â
41	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
42	Â	Â	Roleplay	60	Â	Â
43	Complaints on the Telephone			Â	Â	Â
44	Â	Pre-Task (list all the complaints you've made in a resto and categorize according to intention/function)		10	Â	Â
45	Â	Task		Â	Â	Â
46	Â	Â	Plan	10	Â	Â
47	Â	Â	Report	15	Â	Â
48	Â	Â	Analysis (Functions of Modal Verbs: Complaining, Softening the Message )	60	Â	Â
49	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
50	Â	Â	RoleplayÂ (Activity D)	60	Â	Â
51	Â	Quiz (Function of Modal Verbs and Aspects of Modality) PPT presentation for the questions		55	Â	Â
52	Lunch			60	Â	Â
53	Breaks			30	Â	Â
54	Total Time			540	Â	Â
55	Day 3			In Minutes	Â	Â
56	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY			Â	Â	Â
57	Â	Modality (Task 2, page 3) Check-Up Activity		20	Â	Â
58	Â	Roleplay (Difficult Customers)		40	Â	Â
59	CALL 1 (Anna Pagtakhan) - Modality			Â	Â	Â
60	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
61	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity: Play by Play (ask the trainees to listen to the call. They will need to pick out confusing statements or utterances they feel are out of place, uncalled for, etc.	15	Â	Â
62	Â	Â	Systematization (Modality: Requesting for Information, Asking for Permission)	30	Â	Â
63	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
64	Â	Â	Identifying and Correcting Modals Used in the Call	30	Â	Â
65	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	45	Â	Â
66	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
67	Â	Â	Role Plays ( How Would You Do It Better? - Only change CSRs responses - roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after)	45	Â	Â
68	CALL 1 (Anna Pagtakhan) - Soft Skills			Â	Â	Â
69	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
70	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity: Play by Play (ask the trainees to listen to the call. Go through their original list and if they feel that they need to add more statements that are possible causes for communication breakdown, then let them do so.)	30	Â	Â
71	Â	Â	Systematization (Soft Skills: Overtones, Tone and Undertones )	30	Â	Â
72	Â	Â	Systematization (Phonology: Connected Speech and Elision )	15	Â	Â
73	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
74	Â	Â	Identifying undertones in the call and correcting tone	30	Â	Â
75	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	60	Â	Â
76	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
77	Â	Â	Role Plays ( How Would You Do It Better? - Only change CSRs responses - roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after)	60	Â	Â
78	Lunch	Â	Â	60	Â	Â
79	Breaks	Â	Â	30	Â	Â
80	Total Time	Â	Â	540	Â	Â
81	Day 4			In Minutes	Â	Â
82	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
83	Â	Roleplay (Not Graded, Just give feedback) - Modality and Soft Skills	Â	40	Â	Â
84	CALL 2 (Christopher Gavero)			Â	Â	Â
85	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
86	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity: Play by Play (ask the trainees to listen to the call. They will need to pick out confusing statements or utterances they feel are out of place, uncalled for, etc.	30	Â	Â
87	Â	Â	Systematization (Modality: Giving advice/suggestions; Offering )	40	Â	Â
88	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
89	Â	Â	Identifying and Correcting Modals Used in the Call	30	Â	Â
90	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	45	Â	Â
91	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
92	Â	Â	Role Plays ( How Would You Do It Better? - Same scenario)	60	Â	Â
93	CALL 1 and CALL 3 (Anna Pagtakhan and Lorelie Sanchez)	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
94	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
95	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity: Tag Team - An Exercise on Synonyms: Vocabulary Building - Word Mapping and Association	10	Â	Â
96	Â	Â	Systematization (Paraphrasing)	45	Â	Â
97	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
98	Â	Â	Identifying and Correcting Repetitive, Redundant and confusing statements. - Compare and Contrast	30	Â	Â
99	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	30	Â	Â
100	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
101	Â	Â	Role Plays (Change the CSRs responses for CALL 3)	60	Â	Â
102	Â	Â	QUIZ on Modality (Written)	30	Â	Â
103	Lunch			60	Â	Â
104	Breaks			30	Â	Â
105	Total Time			540	Â	Â
106	Day 5			In Minutes	Â	Â
107	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
108	Â	Roleplay (Modality and Paraphrasing)	Â	40	Â	Â
109	REVIEW for Written Exam	Â	Â	40	Â	Â
110	Â	WRITTEN EXAM: Application and Analysis		90	Â	Â
111	REVIEW for Final Role Play			40	Â	Â
112	Â	ORAL EXAM: One on One Role Play with Trainer	Â	240	Â	Â
113	Lunch	Â	Â	60	Â	Â
114	Breaks	Â	Â	30	Â	Â
115	Total Time	Â	Â	540	Â	Â

Time Allotment Week 2

Â	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Day 6			In Minutes	Â	Â
2	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY (Roleplay) -Sound Production/Modality/ Handling Difficult Customers/ Paraphrasing			60	Â	Â
3	Â	Present (CALL 4: Matthew Ignacio)		Â	Â	For group activities, ensure that all members are contributing or participating to maximize the learning.
4	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Activity:Â I CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH. Divide the class into groups of five. Ask each group to come up with as many statements of fact that they can recall about the conversation they've listened to (i.e. The CSRs name is Matthew, etc.)	30	Â	Always pay close attention to pronunciation with every activity.
5	Â	Â	Systematization (Present the module on theÂ Present Simple TenseÂ )	45	Â	Â
6	Â	Practice (CALL 4: Matthew Ignacio)		Â	Â	Â
7	Â	Â	Filtering: Let the class listen to the call again, this time, give them the transcript as well. In groups, ask them to determine which statements are clearer if kept in the simple present tense.	60	Â	Â
8	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
9	Â	Â	RoleplayÂ (scenarios) - Ask the class to input their corrections into the call and then ask each pair to go through the motions of the call. Give immediate feedback.	80	Â	Â
10	CALL 5: Maria Josue			Â	Â	Â
11	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
12	Â	Â	Running Dictation:Â (1)Make the trainees listen to the call in its entirety. (2)Ask them to take down important notes and details. (3) Divide them into groups. (4) Give them 3 strips of paper per group. (5) Ask them to write statements that are relevant to the call, one statement per strip. (6) Ask them to pick out one representative. (7) The facilitator will collect all the strips and give statements from one group to another group's representative. (8) The representative will only be able to look at the statements for 30 seconds. (9) Then he/she will have to pass all three messages to the person next to him in line until it's been relayed to rest of the group. (10) The last person in the group will have to repeat all three statements.	30	Â	Â
13	Â	Â	Systematization (Present module on theÂ Present Progressive Tense)	35	Â	Â
14	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
15	Â	Â	Pick Your Brains:Â The class will have to pick out the statements following the form of the progressive simple tense.	45	Â	Â
16	Â	Â	Editing and Processing:Â Determine which statements should have been more comprehensible if the statements were in the progressive tense.	45	Â	Â
17	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
18	Â	Â	RoleplayÂ (trainees pair up and come up with their own conversation using the same concern as that in Call 5)	80	Â	Â
19	Lunch			60	Â	Â
20	Breaks			30	Â	Â
21	Total Time			540	Â	Â
22	Day 7			In Minutes	Â	Â
23	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY (Roleplay) - Use of the Present Simple and Present Progressive Tenses			60	Â	Â
24	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
25	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Complete the Sentence Activity (If I wereâ¦If you ask meâ¦)	20	Â	Â
26	Â	Â	Systematization (Present module on theÂ 1st Conditional: Present Simple and Future Simple Format)	30	Â	Â
27	CALL 6: Marilou Salcedo (Let the class listen to the call at least twice)			10	Â	Â
28	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
29	Â	Â	Determine if there are conditionals used and misused in the call	20	Â	Â
30	Â	Â	Applying the Format:Â Change statements into the first conditional.	40	Â	Â
31	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
32	Â	Â	Roleplay:Â Ask the trainees to come up with their own conversation based on the scenario in the call. They should be able to use the first conditional where it is needed.	60	Â	Â
33	CALL 7: Margaret Gonsoden			15	Â	Â
34	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
35	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Ask the trainees to pick out 1st conditionals in the call.	15	Â	Â
36	Â	Â	Systematization (Present module on theÂ 2nd and 3rd conditionals)	30	Â	Â
37	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
38	Â	Â	Applying the Format: Change the 1st conditionals into either 2nd or 3rd conditionals	30	Â	Â
39	Â	Â	Revision Mission:Â Ask the trainees to improve the conversation by injecting conditionals into strategic places in the call.	30	Â	Â
40	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
41	Â	Â	Role PlaysÂ ( How Would You Do It Better? - Only change CSRs responses - roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after)	60	Â	Â
42	Â			Â	Â	Â
43	Â	Quiz (Present Tenses:Â CTWE The Tenses Handout, page 1 items 1-8)		30	Â	Â
44	Lunch			60	Â	Â
45	Breaks			30	Â	Â
46	Total Time			540	Â	Â
47	Day 8			In Minutes	Â	Â
48	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY: Using Conditionals in a Role Play			60	Â	Â
49	CALL 8: Rosa Batangan			Â	Â	Â
50	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
51	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Modals and Conditionals: Are there any uses of modals or conditionals? How do these help keep the communication lines clear?	Â	Â	Â
52	Â	Â	Systematization (Making Modals and Conditionals Work for Us)	Â	Â	Â
53	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
54	Â	Â	Identifying and Correcting Repetitive, Redundant and confusing statements. -Â Compare and Contrast	Â	Â	Â
55	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	Â	Â	Â
56	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
57	Â	Â	Role Plays ( How Would You Do It Better? - Only change CSRs responses - roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after)	Â	Â	Â
58	CALL 9: Winston Mendiola			Â	Â	Â
59	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
60	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions) Modals and Conditionals: Are there any uses of modals or conditionals? How do these help keep the communication lines clear?	Â	Â	Â
61	Â	Â	Systematization (Making Modals and Conditionals Work for Us)	Â	Â	Â
62	Â	Practice		Â	Â	Â
63	Â	Â	Identifying and Correcting Repetitive, Redundant and confusing statements. -Â Compare and Contrast	Â	Â	Â
64	Â	Â	Role Play with Corrections	Â	Â	Â
65	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
66	Â	Â	Role Plays ( How Would You Do It Better? - Only change CSRs responses - roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after)	Â	Â	Â
67	Lunch			Â	Â	Â
68	Breaks			Â	Â	Â
69	Total Time			0	Â	Â
70	Day 9			In Minutes	Â	Â
71	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY			Â	Â	Â
72	Â	Roleplay (Not Graded, Just give feedback) -Conditionals		Â	Â	Â
73	American Culture			Â	Â	Â
74	Â	Present		Â	Â	Â
75	Â	Â	Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions)Â Â Elicitation Questions: Do you watch American sitcoms and movies? What have you observed about their lifestyle? What makes them tick? What values are important to them?	Â	Â	Â
76	Â	Â	SystematizationÂ (Show clips from sitcoms and/or movies that focus on: value of time; idea of customer service; being frank and direct to the point)	Â	Â	Â
77	Â	Practice (Plethora of Calls)		Â	Â	Â
78	Â	Â	Culture ClassÂ - Divide the class into groups: give each group a call that's been discussed in the course of the training program (Calls 1 -9). Ask them to pick out scenarios or dialogue that reflects a value that is concretely American.	Â	Â	Â
79	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
80	Â	Â	Role Play:Â Ask the trainees to come up with their own conversation scenarios based on the aspect of culture they picked out from the calls given to them.	Â	Â	Â
81	Present: Lead In (creating interest, eliciting answers, concept questions)Â Background on DISH Network Services			Â	Â	Â
82	Â	Presentation of Modules in Connection to the services offered: Customer Service		Â	Â	Â
83	Â	Â	Geography and Time Zones	Â	Â	Â
84	Â	Â	Sports	Â	Â	Â
85	Â	Â	Money	Â	Â	Â
86	Â	Â	Seasons and Holidays	Â	Â	Â
87	Â	Practice (Plethora of Calls)		Â	Â	Â
88	Â	Â	It's All in the Details- Divide the class into groups: give each group a call that's been discussed in the course of the training program (Calls 1 -9). Ask them to pick out scenarios or dialogue that reflects any of the modules tackled in the Present stage.	Â	Â	Â
89	Â	Production		Â	Â	Â
90	Â	Â	Role Play:Â Ask the trainees to come up with their own conversation scenarios based on the aspect of culture they picked out from the calls given to them.	Â	Â	Â
91	Lunch			Â	Â	Â
92	Breaks			Â	Â	Â
93	Total Time			0	Â	Â
94	Day 10			In Minutes	Â	Â
95	RECAP/REVIEW ACTIVITY			Â	Â	Â
96	Â	Roleplay (Tenses, Conditionals, Active and Passive Verbs )		40	Â	Â
97	REVIEW for Written Exam	Â	Â	40	Â	Â
98	Â	WRITTEN EXAM: Application and Analysis	Â	90	Â	Â
99	REVIEW for Final Role Play	Â	Â	40	Â	Â
100	Â	ORAL EXAM: One on One Role Play with Trainer	Â	240	Â	Â
101	Lunch			60	Â	Â
102	Breaks			30	Â	Â
103	Total Time	Â	Â	540	Â	Â

I transcribed the call and below is my lesson plan which I patterned from their format above.

AGENTÂ : Thank fuh calling Circuit City, muh name is Zach. Meh please have phone number beginning with the area code?

CUSTOMERÂ : Hi Zach, this is Sheik Sylvan and I just need to ask a few questions.

AGENTÂ Â : Go ahead.

CUSTOMERÂ : Okay, I am having your catalog in front of me and the last page is computer. Itâs HP Turion laptop with a Core 2 Duo Centrino. It comes with a window vista and it plays one the fent charges with the Window XP. Can you do that or it has to be Window vista?

AGENTÂ : Aahmm well if waahh that is only aahh the inclusion of aahh the order we cannot do anything about it.

CUSTOMERÂ : Oh, you cannot do anything. Shall I call some of the number if there are anything?

AGENTÂ Â : Aahh you chood try contacting the manufacturer of the laptop.

CUSTOMERÂ : Do you have the number?

AGENTÂ Â : Aahh what is the ahh ahh item?

CUSTOMERÂ : Okay, the web ID is DV6833us.

AGENTÂ Â : What is the brand of the laptop?

CUSTOMERÂ : Okay, thatâs aahh HP Turion laptop.

AGENTÂ Â : Itâs HP pavilion.

CUSTOMERÂ : Yes, the pavilion laptop with the Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo.

AGENTÂ Â : Okay, contact Hewlett Packard 800â¦

CUSTOMERÂ : Okay 800â¦

AGENTÂ Â : 752â¦

CUSTOMERÂ : 752â¦

AGENTÂ Â : 0900â¦

CUSTOMERÂ : Say it again, 29?

AGENTÂ Â : 7920900â¦

CUSTOMERÂ : Iâm sorry, can you repeat it again?

AGENTÂ Â : 09-00, the last four number.

CUSTOMERÂ : 0900. Okay, so itâs 8007520900, all right?

AGENTÂ Â : That is correct.

CUSTOMERÂ : Thank you, Sir.

AGENTÂ Â : Thank you for calling Cir City. Have a great day.Â

Let me know if you want me to email you the selected call in .wmv format.

Title: Name That ToneÂ Â Â Â By: Francis Paolo Meria

Activity: Reading sentences using different emotionsÂ Audio file: John Paul Cruz (bad call CCCS)Â

Concept to be taught: Tone, Overtones and UndertonesÂ

Learning Outcomes / Instructional Goal

To realize the importance of tone
To be able to identify and correct undertones
To build rapport by using the using the right tone of voice

Purpose: This activity helps the trainees to become more confident in their ability to recognize tones different forms. It also helps motivate everyone in the room to participate in the learning.Â Â

Assessment - At the end of the lesson, assess whether the objective was achieved or not with an activity. Show sentences and statements and ask the agents individually to say the sentence using the correct tone of voice or the trainer could say a sentence with different emotions and ask each trainee to identify the mood of the speaker. In this way, the concept will be clear.Â

Present

Lead In Â : creating interests, eliciting answers, concept questions (How does tone of voice affect communication? How do you thank someone? How do you say âIâm sorryâ?) â 5 minutesÂ

Methodology/ProcedureÂ : ask the trainees to listen to the call and pick out confusing statements, utterances they feel are out of place, uncalled for, etc. Go through their original list and if they feel that they need to add more statements that are possible causes for communication breakdown, then let them do so. âÂ 10 minutesÂ

Systematization â Soft skills (overtones, tone and undertones) â 10 minutesÂ

Practice

Identify the undertones in the call â 5 minutesÂ

Filtering â let the class listen to the call again, this time, give them the transcript as well â 15 minutesÂ

Revision Mission â ask the trainees to improve the conversation by applying the appropriate tone of voice in each statement â 30 minutesÂ

Production

Role-plays â how would you do it better? (roles will be played by trainees, switch it up after) â 45 minutesÂ

chossing correct tense/tense consistency

MaxMaximus — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:08:59 GMT

Greetings,

I have a pretty big favour to ask.

I've been struggling with this topic for quite awhile now.It goes without saying that my English "leaves something to be desired".

Having in mind the subtle differences that occur from using particular tenses, I have often wondered how the authors of following exercises expect anyone to choose the correct form, without providing sound and unambiguous references.

I've uploaded 2 exercises that I stumbled upon :

1. http://rapidshare.com/files/138835945/HP.txt.html
and
2.http://rapidshare.com/files/138835946/redundancy.txt.html

I have converted them into .txt files to ease moderators' job.

They present the essence of my inability to comprehend and do right.

First text:
1. First sentence, adverb "always" stands before the verb (author did not bother to put it in the brackets (always/be)). If she is dead (we don't know that until we have finished reading) or if she is not "a fighter" anymore (we are clueless about that either), - we could use Past Simple. Of course, Present Perfect is more likely choice, but the position of adverb puzzles.

2."But, prior to..." - Past Continuous or Past Perfect?

3.The sentence : "it (be)__ slow to notice..".I'm not sure whether Past Simple or Past Perfect should be used here.There is no strong reference whether this "slow noticing" occurred prior to her arrival or about the time when she came on board.

4."Those three years are not over..". The starting point is present time, but, that has nothing to do with the moment when she realized how things stand, which I know nothing about.Even the Present Simple is possible if she keeps realizing everyday that things are harder than she expected.For the rest of the paragraph I'm not certain whether Present Perfect should be used.

5."Above all,.." - from Present Simple (finds, is trying, is going to embark)...to Present Perfect (has found, has tried/has been trying, has embarked)...The tenses chosen in these sentences determine the tenses of the last paragraph in the text.

Second text:
1. First sentence: we could use Future Simple as well as Present Simple for the verb "have to"?

2. "Although no business or industry..". If there was a recent survey - do interviewed subjects still claim what they have said - or the use of Past Tense is obligatory? The word "any" is used in interrogative or negative sentences - but here, no question is being asked nor it is possible to be negative. Instead, "some" should have been used, I think.

3. "Those who have..." - Present Continuous or Present Simple? Former is more likely choice although the latter is possible also.

4. "In the past.." - as far as I know this presents the "indefinite moment in time". The Present Perfect could be used - but the position of adverb "always" confuses, again.

I would be more than grateful to anyone who can shed some light on these issues.
If I could reach to any other decent credible source I wouldn't ask for help in this way.

Thanks in advance,
Georgie.

Can we mix the present perfect and the simple past?

YSchneider — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:39:10 GMT

Iâd like to know if we can mix the present perfect and the simple past and if itâs natural.

I noticed that the present simple itâs often used for sentences with already.

I already finished it! But not for it negative opposite I havenât finished it yet!

I think for questions both are common Did you finish it yet? Or Have you finished it yet?

So when I answer to Did you finished it yet? Can I say No I havenât finished it yet!

And the other way around can I answer I already finished to the question Have you finished it

yet?

Did I tell you that Iâll get promoted? â No, you havenât told me yet â Is this possible?

Did you eat yet? â No, I havenât eaten yet â possible?

(by the way Iâm just talking about US usage)

Looking for some tips and/or curriculum suggestions

mikesusangray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:50:11 GMT

Hi all!

I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's been teaching at a German language university for many years.

I'd like to add some more specific inputs to our lessons but I can't seem to find the right material. His passive skills are excellent - he reads widely and with perfect comprehension in his field - and he can communicate quite understandably. He is a linguistics specialist and can grasp any concept about the language immediately. I brought along Cambridge Advanced Grammar in Use and he could plow through a chapter in five minutes with perfect conceptual comprehension.

However, he also continues to make very simple errors - for example, he has trouble choosing between present simple and continuous or often uses the present tense for past events. Sentence order tends to get wander hither and yon while definite and indefinite articles come and go with the tide. (Prepositions are a problem too, but I won't beat him to hard there - prepositions are difficult in any new language.) In many cases his mistakes are typical of French or German speech patterns.

One other limitation is that he enjoys the weekly lessons (a good hour), but doesn't have much time to study in between.

Right now we spend about 15 minutes reading a chapter from Advanced Grammar in Use and about 45 minutes talking about just about anything under the sun, while I take notes and show him problems under the categories Pronunciation/Articles & Prespositions/Word Order/Other Grammar/Vocabulary/Idioms. However, I don't think the work book is a good choice - particularly since he doesn't do the homework - and it seems like he isn't making very good progress with his typical problem patterns - though he greets them like old friends when I point them out.

Any tips here?

Re: 3 sentences

Madhulk — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:20:28 GMT

1.Is it OK to say: They're going to celebrate their 30th marriage (you could omit marriage) anniversary.

2. These are the politicians who trigger off wars and civilians die. You've used the Present simple.

Is this something usual for these guys? If not it should be '... triggered off wars and many civilians died.'

(I do not know why, but I was thinking for a while that it should be: This is the politicians No. Because you're talking about

many politicians. 'This' is for singular while 'these' is for plural.

Reported speech

Malinka — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:57:38 GMT

Hello everyone! I need your help. One of my books contains the following examples of the reported speech:
1) "Why is the world round?"asked the little girl.
The little girl wanted to know why the world was round.
2) "Smoking is bad for you", the teacher told us.
The teacher explained that smoking was bad for us.

I know that we do not usually change a simple present tense if the statement is always true. So my questions are:
1) Can I keep the present simple unchanged in the examples above, e.g. The little girl wanted to know why the world is round; e.g. The teacher explained that smoking is bad for us.

2) OR maybe both variants - the present and the past simple - are possible here.

Thanks in advance.
Please, give some explanations if you can.